


Prison food and Cannibal killers

by A_hopeful_disaster



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Also i like jack so he's not gonna be a dick in this, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Alternate Universe - Prison, Angst, Attempted Murder, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Attempted Sexual Assault, But mostly angst, But with all due respect fuck chilton, Cannibalism, Canon-Typical Violence, Fluff and Angst, Forced Pregnancy, Grey!Will Graham, Guys im so sorry but stuff happened, Hannibal Lecter Loves Will Graham, Hannibal Lecter is a Cannibal, I hurt my boyy, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, Murder, Oh and Lounds x Chilton is a ship now, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Please forgive me i made myself cry but i promise there'll be some happy moments, Prison, Rape, Rape Aftermath, Rape Recovery, Rape/Non-con Elements, Trans Will Graham, Transphobia, Unplanned Pregnancy, Verger is a sick fuck, Will Graham Helps Himself, Will is gonna have to deal with his homicidal thoughts, im so sorry, references to cannibalism
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-05
Updated: 2020-08-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:20:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25737187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_hopeful_disaster/pseuds/A_hopeful_disaster
Summary: Will Graham murdered a man and now has been sent to federal prison. There his new cellmate Hannibal Lecter finds the ex-FBI agent intriguing.Will is still trying to figure out where his moral compass lands, and plot a course from there.Mason Verger discovers Will's secret and uses it against him. Can Hannibal and Will find a way out of this problem?(This is my first work in the Fandom. I will do my best to update regularly, please mind the tags)
Relationships: Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter
Comments: 35
Kudos: 70





	1. The First Day of Forever

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! I'm glad y'all decided to read this fanfic. I feel that Will is a very morally grey character and will do my best to portray that. This is un-betaed. If you find any mistakes don't hesitate to tell me. I would appreciate any comments and kudos you wish to gift me. There will be transphobia and commentary on the transphobia in the prison system. If this might be triggering for you please don't read. I am a trans guy myself, and this fic has been floating around in my head for a while. ENJOY YOU FUNKY FANNIBALS

When the gavel came down and Will was sentenced to 50 years with possibility of parole after 25 years, he was hardly surprised. He couldn’t claim that he hadn’t murdered a man, the evidence was overwhelming. What he hadn’t expected was to be put on the prison bus without a chance to say goodbye. Dread sat low in his belly. The moment the cuffs were slapped against his wrists he was no longer free. 

His thoughts returned to his case, he remembered none of what had led up to his arrest besides the blood on his hands as he dialed his boss. Jack had arrived a half hour after his call and walked past Will on the front porch into the house. 

“Will, there-there’s no way you can call this self defense.” 

Will only nodded, “I’ll turn myself in, but I want a lawyer first.”

Things happened rapidly after that, he was brought into his local police station, booked, his meager possessions seized, lawyer called, Alana picked up his dogs, Jack did his best to make sure Will was comfortable. Well as comfortable as he could be in jail. Made sure he was being fed, made sure his rights were being respected. The FBI wanted to sweep Will under the rug, and eventually Jack had to relent. A doctor came by, noted his fever and sent him for a few tests, only for them to discover his mind was on fire. 

His lawyer had done her best to argue innocence by reason of temporary insanity. The prosecution retaliated by saying that as a profiler he was surrounded by killers, it only made sense that he had finally snapped. Psychiatrists, who in all honesty Will had treated horribly, retaliated in kind and made sure that Will’s insanity defense was practically thrown out the window. The only therapist who had been any sort of kind was the therapist he had seen when he first came out. 

Jack had testified to his character, only to have his testimony used against Will. The fact Jack had failed to notice any change in Will didn’t help him seem crazy. Jack looked apologetic when Will was led from the courtroom. Alana only stared at him sadly, and Will could tell she felt guilty for not saving him. 

The prison bus shook as it hit a speed bump, practically throwing several inmates from their seats. When it stopped in front of a squat building with chain-link fences leading to the front entrance. “Receiving and Discharge” the sign read.  _ ‘I don’t think I’ll get to the discharge part,’ _ Will thought grimly. He knew his chances in here were slim, he knew what happened to trans inmates, being a former fed only meant he would be a prime target once inside these walls. 

Will zoned out for much of the intake process, a few interviews with several departments and soon he was asked to bend over and cough, then he was told to shower. Once he got his bedroll and jumpsuit it felt more real than it ever had before. A photo was snapped, and moments later he had an ID card with his inmate number stamped on it. Will felt sick looking at his face on the laminated paper.  _ ‘This is real, oh god this is real.’ _

Soon he was being led down the cell blocks to cell block E. This was the only cell block they had walked through with actual cells. 

“Now, you step a toe out of line folks, you’ll head down to the SHU. Rules are simple, don’t have anything you shouldn’t, don't talk back, don't start fights, be where you’re supposed to be, don’t fraternize with other inmates, and you should be fine. If you don’t follow these rules I’m  _ sure _ Warden Chilton will find an appropriate punishment for you,” the woman, Lounds, if Will remembered correctly practically sneered at him and the other inmate with him. The other intake inmates had slowly been assigned to cots as they moved through the prison. “Ah, speak of the devil, here comes the warden.”

“Hello Miss. Lounds, have you assigned them yet?”

“No, sir. Both of them are high risk, so I figured I’d pair one of them with Lecter.” Will shuddered slightly,  _ ‘No, anyone but him, he’ll kill me in seconds’ _

“Send Graham, I feel…”Chilton read the other inmates ID card, “Tier will be better with Gideon,” Chilton smiled, his gaze felt slimy as he looked over Will. Will stared at his frames as he prepared himself. 

“Sir, with all due respect, but I believe Jack Crawford argued for protective custody,” he spoke, surprising everyone around him, including himself.

“Unfortunately, unless you want your cell to be solitary until your sentence is over I am afraid we have no protective custody here.” Chilton licked his lips as he spoke, seemingly assessing Will as he stood awkwardly holding his few possessions. “I am sure you’ll find your cellmate will be nothing but courteous unless you provoke him. Perhaps if you help me I might be willing to help you. Until then, ta-ta!” Chilton walked off, smug even as he leaned against his frankly ostentatious cane. 

Lounds snapped her fingers and started leading them down the hallway towards their new cells. Will could feel the pit of dread deepen as he walked closer to the end of the cell block. “Here you are Graham. Lecter, don’t do anything stupid with this one.” Lounds waved her hand at one of the cameras and the cell she gestured towards slid open. “Good luck,” she whispered to Will as the cell door closed behind him. 

“Thank you Miss. Lounds,” Lecter said as he looked up from the small desk shoved into the front corner of the cell. “Mr. Graham was it?”

“Will, my name is Will.” 

“Apologies Will, then I must insist that you call me Hannibal,” Lecter smiled slightly as he took in the sight of his new cell mate.

“Mmm.” Will placed his stuff on the top bunk, the bottom one clearly having been already chosen by his cellmate. Drawings of various buildings littered the walls, some showing scenes that Hannibal had drawn over several sheets of paper. 

“Florence, the Duomo, an architectural marvel at the time it was constructed,” Hannibal spoke over his shoulder noticing the drawing Will had been looking at. He hadn’t heard Hannibal move from his desk. 

“Bit pretentious to have in a federal prison don’t you think?”

“Perhaps, but I still insist on having some pleasures, even if I must remain in this prison for the rest of my days. Tell me Will, do you have any pleasures you miss from the outside?”

“My dogs. Fishing.”  _ ‘Not being a roomie with a cannibalistic serial killer.’  _ Will started making his bed, trying hard to copy his cellmate’s pristine bunk. It was slightly difficult as he wasn’t quite tall enough to reach across the other side of the bed from the floor. 

“Hard to fish within these walls.” 

Will snorted, “You don’t say? And here I was thinking we got weekly excursions to the beach.”

Hannibal smiled. Will felt a moment of panic, how had he already opened up to a man who was a convicted murderer? Of course, at this point they both were, but Will didn’t remember his kills while Hannibal found  _ art _ in death. “What is wrong Will, you seem afraid? Have I done something to upset you?”

“You’re a cannibalistic serial killer. Sharing a room with one might make a person nervous.”

“Ah, is my case still in the public eye?”

Will hesitated before answering. “No, but I followed your case.”

“Hmm, not because you worked at Quantico?”

“How- how did you-”

“Easily enough. Jack Crawford hasn’t visited me in ages. Perhaps I will get to see him when he comes to visit you.” 

Will paled. 

They stood there, watching each other, trying to decide what the other would do. Will had an advantage in this respect, he could already tell that if he yelled Hannibal would have his hand around his mouth in seconds. His only option was to stand still and wait for Hannibal to act first. 

Nothing happened for a few long minutes. Not until Lounds walked past and started yelling for them to line up for dinner. Whatever was going to happen would hopefully take place after dinner. 

If it could be called dinner. Grey mashed potatoes, almost neon green green beans and what one could almost be considered meat. Will had to struggle not to puke. Hannibal just looked appalled at the food dished out to him. He mumbled something about kitchen duty and stalked off to one of the tables. 

Will felt as if it was his first day of high school all over again. There was some sort of assignment to seats, but he had no idea what that was. Thankfully there was half of a table completely empty. He scarfed down his food quickly and was allowed to walk to the library. He found a seat near the back and started reading. A collection of poems, most of them written in french. Some of it made little sense to him, as he hadn’t practiced his french in ages, not since his dad had passed away. 

The next few hours were spent in the library until someone called him to come get the telephone. 

Will couldn’t think of who would be calling him, but he picked up the phone anyway. 

“Will, how are you?” Beverly’s voice crackled through the phone. A man held up all ten fingers and mouthed ‘Ten minutes’ once Will had the phone fully in his hands.

“Uh, about as well as I think you can be in prison.”

“Jesus, Will, just tell me they got you somewhere safe.”

“Not really, apparently they don’t have any space for me to be put in protective custody. I got put in with Hannibal Lecter.”

“That fucker?”

Will sighed, “Yeah, that fucker. I think the warden has it out for me for some reason.”

“I don’t know, maybe he wanted to be a profiler at one point but didn’t make the cut?”

“Maybe, but don’t tell Jack I’m in with Lecter. He’ll freak.”

“Yeah, no shit Sherlock. He’s hated Lecter since they found the body in his car,” Beverly sassed.

“Yeah well, Jack throwing a fit isn’t going to help me right now. Did you send me the money for the commissary?”

“Yeah, Jack pitched in, did a bunch of research to see how much you would need. You should have about 50 bucks in there by the end of the week because the paperwork is taking a while.”

“Give Jack my thanks. How’s Bella?”

“She’s okay, pissed at you right now, but Jack assures me that won’t last long.”

“It’s okay she’s mad at me, I’m mad at me.” Will felt the annoyance from a few of the prisoners behind him. It felt as though it seeped into him slowly, his temper starting to flare. But it wouldn’t be fair to take it out on Beverly.

“Jack said he’d call you tomorrow, make sure you’re doing okay. You know he’s gonna ask who you got stuck with.”

“I’ll tell him I’m in the high security wing.” Which wasn’t wrong per say. It seemed like most of the people in there were serial offenders. Will felt as though his prison sentence might only make him suck up more of the worst in humanity. 

“God. You in high security? You’re gonna get eaten alive. Maybe even literally.”

Will laughed at the sick joke, “I’ll ask Hannibal to have the decency to kill me first.” 

“He might consider it polite if you ask nicely enough,” she chuckled through the phone. 

The guard caught Will’s attention and held up one finger. 

“Bev, I gotta go, my phone time is almost over. I made sure you’re on my visitor list.”

“I’ll be there as soon as the gates open don’t worry. Jack-” The phone cut out with a beep. A robotic voice announced that his time for the evening had been used, and if he wished to make another call to go to the end of the line and wait. 

Will didn’t call anyone else that night. The loud speakers told everyone to return to their cells for count and lights out.    
  


When Will was back in his cell Hannibal was sketching at his desk once again. “Glad to see you are okay, Will.”

“Thanks,” Will replied as he climbed up onto his bunk. A guard with a clipboard walked past and a few moments later the lights were turned off.    
  


Will didn’t sleep a wink.


	2. Disgust and Pain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: Sexual assault and rape, skip from the series of exclamation marks to the following if this triggers you.

The soft  _ ‘click, click’ _ of the stag’s hooves as it paced the corridor outside Will’s cell did little to help him sleep. It felt as though it was simply waiting for the doors to open in order to impale him. Will tried to remember the breathing exercises that Alana had taught him, but fatigue, discomfort, and fear all drowned out her voice.    
The stag stood outside the gate, Will could feel it watching him. He turned onto his side, away from the large, brown elk outside the door. He had hoped the hallucinations would stop after his encephalitis was treated. Apparently not. Will felt sick, he could only hope that sunrise would come soon. 

Once the sun started peeking through the bars Hannibal stirred. How he had slept through the night surprised Will. He had honestly thought that there would be some mild complaining about the quality of the sheets or something like that. Instead Hannibal stood up calmly and took a piss. Though he would probably call it something more refined. 

Will sat up in his bunk and watched as his cellmate prepared for the day. First pulling out a razor, clearly sharper than the safety razors they were given, and then giving himself a shave before the guard came by. The razor was safely concealed once again before the guard stood outside their door.    
“Names and ID number please,” Lounds said, glancing down at her clipboard.

“Hannibal Lecter, Inmate E7843-022”

“I’ve said it a thousand times Lecter, I  _ don’t _ need your first name.”

Will glanced at his ID card before responding, “Graham, Inmate E8345-057.” 

“Thank you kindly gentlemen, see you at breakfast after count.”

Lounds walked off, her boots sounding remarkably similar to the stag’s hooves against the concrete. Will just hoped he wouldn’t lose his mind at breakfast. He did not want to have to deal with that on top of the stress of being in prison. 

The cell doors opened and cell block E was brought to the cafeteria for breakfast. It seemed that the groups were designated by race, and unfortunately that meant the majority of the population was black. Sometimes Will was disgusted with the prison system. He knew that most of those men were innocent, either that or they got charged for a far worse crime than the one they committed. Will had hoped when he first entered law enforcement to find the  _ real _ perpetrators. 

A few groups glared at Will and the other new-comers as they got in line for breakfast. Hannibal was in front, already had his meal and was now sitting in the same spot as yesterday. He was surrounded by a small group of men, Will noticed Tier was among them. He figured it couldn’t be worse than trying to avoid everyone, so Will hesitantly walked over to the group. Halfway there a blond man in glasses grabbed him. Will froze. He turned, “Don’t fucking touch me.”

“This one is  _ MOUTHY _ isn’t he boys?” There were mutters of agreement. “I think that after breakfast I can show you a better way to use that mouth of yours. And before you decline, this isn’t an offer.” 

“Put anything of yours in my mouth and you won’t see it again.”

The man grinned before pulling Will closer to him. “I would LOVE to see you cry… too bad I can’t get a martini in here, oh I would, _kill_ for one right about now.”  
“Bit early in the day don’t you think?”

“Oh I like this one. Carlos, you will make sure he comes to me after breakfast, won’t you?”

“Course, Boss,” a man, apparently Carlos, responded. 

“Lovely!” The blond man practically sang. 

Will’s heart dropped, they’d know, they’d know and it would be all over for him. He wasn’t quite sure how to escape this, not yet, he hoped that perhaps he would come up with something over breakfast.    
Will decided to spend breakfast alone once more. He had had enough of people and he hadn’t even had the glop they called coffee. He sighed as he took a bite of the lukewarm pastry. He just needed to make sure that Carlos didn’t find him.    


After breakfast he was led back to the E cell block by one of the guards and handed a mop, ”After Verger is done sweeping go ahead and mop, Lecter will follow afterwards and sanitize whatever you can’t mop. Tier! You go ahead and start cleaning toilets, afterwards you and Lecter go take care of the showers.” With that the guard dismissed the four men. He watched as they went about their chores, occasionally shifting his weight from one foot to the other. A few other inmates collected laundry placed outside cells, or were fixing small issues inside the cells or in the corridor. 

Will watched as the blond, now identified as Verger, tediously swept each cell and along the hallway. Will followed behind slowly, trying to avoid this Verger fellow as much as possible. 

Eventually the rooms were all mopped, and Will was told to go mop the showers. 

He wished he had asked to be accompanied. 

Carlos grabbed him by the arm, then slammed him up against the wall of the shower. Will only groaned as the wind was knocked out of him. Verger strode in a few moments later, looking like the cat who got the cream. Will opened his mouth to scream, only to have a hand put over his mouth. Will tried to bite the hand in front of him, but that only made the man angry, he shoved something in his mouth then tied a makeshift gag around it. 

“Now, now, Graham, wouldn’t wanna ruin the fun so early would we? I promise you this will go far easier if you break quickly. I would hate to have to  _ really _ hurt you.” 

!!!!!

Will felt Carlos unzip his jumpsuit, he wanted to crawl out of his skin. “Carlos, be a dear and hold him still would you?”

“Si, signore.” 

Verger was the one who pulled Will’s boxers down. He tried to kick him, but Verger moved too quickly for the strike to hit. 

“What have we here?” Verger asked, “I didn’t know they let trannys in this prison, would’ve thought they would have you all together.” Will swallowed trying hard to keep the tears from falling. He wouldn’t let this asshole get what he wanted. “Ruined your body, I wonder if you could even have kids, or maybe the hormones would ruin all of that. A shame, I’m sure you would have gorgeous kids, and lucky, lucky you, I’m willing to be the sperm donor. Now, try to relax a bit, wouldn’t want to hurt you more than necessary.”

It hurt, it hurt and Will stopped struggling once it seemed that it wouldn’t end. He couldn’t get out of Carlos’s grip, and Verger had a brutal hold on him. Will tried to catch Carlos’s gaze, hoping that maybe he would take pity on him. Each thrust slammed Will into the tiled wall, only to be pulled back by Verger’s hand on his neck, his hands now held in place by one of Verger’s. Carlos stood by the door, leaning slightly on it to prevent anyone from entering.

Verger came eventually, only to lean heavily on Will below him. Will puked into the gag, some forced its way past the gag out and onto the floor. “Disgusting, but it can’t be helped now,” he wiped his hand on Will’s jumpsuit, “Carlos, let’s go before someone notices. I’ll be seeing you later Graham.” Verger sneered. The sound of a zipper being pulled up and the door closing. 

Will was left laying in his own vomit and blood. He pulled the gag from his mouth and retched, but nothing came up. The stag stood watch as he shook violently against the floor for a few moments. He would kill Verger for this. 

  
!!!!!

Will tidied himself up as best he could, cleaning himself using the sink and grabbing a clean jumpsuit from his cell and throwing the soiled one into one of the laundry baskets. He went back to the showers and mopped up the vomit and blood on the floor. He watched the water dirty and dumped it down one of the drains and filled the bucket again. He didn’t realize his hands were still shaking.

All evidence was washed away, he wouldn’t have to look at it again. He was going to be okay. He was going to be okay. He tried to breathe. In and out. In and out. 

He returned to his job, trying to hide his shaking hands, hoping the baggy jumpsuit hid how badly he was shaking. Eventually lunch was called and the group was all led to the cafeteria. 

Will stood in line, feeling as if any draft of wind would send him barreling over. Lunch wasn’t anything special, a subpar burger on stale bread, he scarfed down his food before being told that cell block E was on downtime. After being led back to their block they were pretty much given free reign over their cell block, there was a small group of tables in the main cell block, where some prisoners were playing checkers or other board games. One of the guards were stationed in the shower room if anyone wanted to shower. Will wanted a shower. 

The shower room had shower stalls, with doors that could be unlatched by a guard or someone determined enough, with a small bench to change and a place for a towel and clothes, and another section for the actual shower, a curtain helped prevent the dry clothes from getting soaked. He grabbed his soap and shampoo and showered quickly, thankfully the water was warm, if not hot, but Will wished they had been given shower shoes. He felt fairly certain that there were several strains of fungal infections living on the tiled floor. Once showered and changed he returned to his cell.

Hannibal was sketching again, this time it seemed to be a drawing of a famous painting. Will recognized it but couldn’t quite remember its name. Something about a goddess. Hannibal looked up and smiled, “Nice to see you again, Will. I’m afraid I’ve taken up much of the desk space in here, but I would be happy to lend you one of my books.” 

“Recommend anything in particular?”

“I feel  _ The Call of the Wild _ might be something you enjoy or perhaps  _ The Odyssey?  _ I unfortunately have not gotten my hands on a copy of  _ The Iliad _ , it seems our prison system would deny us the ability to read the classics.”

“That or they don’t care enough about prisoners being well read.”

“You are certainly correct, I feel warden Chilton cares little for academic pursuits, unless of course it reflects well on his prison, and therefore himself.”

“Chilton cares about no one but himself.” Will stood silently for a moment looking over the titles of the books Hannibal had placed neatly on a little shelf. “Can I take  _ Call of the Wild? _ ” 

“Of course, a tale of survival. Fitting I feel.”

“Hmph, maybe, maybe I just like dogs.” Will smiled, reaching up and pulling the well worn copy of the shelf. 

“Nonetheless, Buck fights his true nature, fearing his savage roots, do you yourself have a savage nature?”

“Stop psychoanalyzing me, I  _ don’t _ like being psychoanalyzed. Now, if you’ll excuse me I’m going to read a book about a dog.” Will gritted out. Hannibal only gave a soft smile before returning to his art. 

Will settled down in his bunk, losing himself in the story. A few hours later Lounds came by, peering into each cell and saying that the phones were open if anyone wanted to make a call. Will hurriedly jumped off his bunk, grabbing the phone numbers of his friends and walking to the booth. There were two phones open, the other one occupied by a man talking to his daughter. Will stepped up to the phone and dialed Jack’s number.

It rang for a few moments before Jack answered. “Will? How are you doing? Beverly says you’re not in protective custody?”

“Yeah Jack, it's me. I think I’m doing about as well as someone in jail can be doing. And no, I’m not in protective custody. Is there anyway you can put in for a transfer for me? Maybe a mixed prison?”

The man on the phone to his daughter gave Will a strange look before returning to his call.    
“Look Will, I don’t think anyone wants to let you leave the state, and the other prisons are lower security. Are you sure you still don’t want to file for an appeal?” 

“Jack,” Will sighed. 

“Will, I don’t have the authority to put in an appeal for you, but you should. If I had the choice your appeal would already be filed.”

“Jack, I- I killed a man, I can’t even say I didn’t do it because I did.”

“Who’s the warden, maybe I can find a cell for you. One with a private bathroom or something.”

“Don’t Jack, I don’t need special treatment, and the showers are fine, don’t worry. Besides there’s a little privacy curtain for the toilet.”

For a moment they both stayed silent, waiting for the other to speak, a muffled “Is that Will?” could be heard. There were some muffled whispers then a woman’s voice rang over the phone.

“William Graham, is this really you?”

“Yes, it’s me Bella, how is treatment?”

“Horrible, but the doctors prescribed me medical marijuana.”

“That must be fun, how is Jack taking that?”

“Oh, well,” she paused, hinting at something more, “He says the smell bothers him,” Bella chuckled lightly. Will laughed slightly, imagining his boss, a federal agent smoking a joint. 

“Jack says you’ve refused to start the appeal process?”

Will groaned, “Not you too?”

“Yes me too, we both know you weren’t in your right mind.”

The guard watching the phones mouthed ‘one minute’. 

“Bella, I have to go, the phone calls are timed, give Jack my best. I’m calling Beverly this evening.”

“Will, stay safe, okay?”

For a moment Will thought about telling Bella what had actually happened that morning, but the phone decided for him, the robotic voice cutting him off before he could speak. 

Will talked to Beverly after dinner, listening to details of the case they were working on, happy to listen, occasionally giving some insight. He felt normal again for a moment. 

That night the evening was spent reading his book, until eventually roll call was taken followed by the prison lights being shut off. 

Will’s dreams were plagued by nightmares, instead of Verger raping him, it was the stag. It’s antlers impaled him, piercing his lung, Will woke with a gasp. He pulled the woolen blanket closer to his chest. Eventually he drifted back asleep, the nightmares came back, but Will didn’t awaken until Hannibal was gently shaking him awake. 

“Will. Miss. Lounds is doing her rounds, I suggest getting up now before she gives you her special wake up call. I do not recommend it.” 

“Mmmh,” Will groaned softly as he woke. Once on the floor, he pulled the privacy curtain as he peed, then brushed his teeth, the routine allowing himself to feel less unmoored. 

The next few days passed like this: he woke when Hannibal shook him, got ready for the day, did his job after breakfast, after lunch they had recreation time, and if the weather was nice enough Will would brave the yard. After dinner he would either call Beverly or Jack. He usually turned the conversation back to whatever case they were working on. He tried not to talk about his stay in the prison. Then he would spend the last of the evening reading whatever book he was working on, take a shower before lights out and then head back to his cell. 

The next few weeks passed similarly, unless Verger found him, usually the brutality was hidden in a less paroled corridor, but it didn’t happen again in the showers, for which he was grateful for. If it had he wasn’t sure he would be able to face them. Will hadn’t puked on himself again, and when he bled he grabbed some toilet paper from the commissary and used it as a makeshift pad. 

If Hannibal noticed anything strange he didn’t mention it. He either was drawing or reading. They would chat, but not for long, usually just a greeting during rec time. Sometimes Hannibal wrote letters, his loopy script very different from what Will expected a doctor's handwriting would look like.

It was a month later that Hannibal showed his true colors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO! The stag isn't the raven-stag in this version because Will never saw Hannibal's field kabuki. Therefore its just a normal stag.  
> Having never been to jail myself I cannot say this is true to life. While I did do a TON of research, its frankly difficult to find much on resources for trans men in prison. I have read most of the "rules" of prison, but there may be some inaccuracies. Also i claim creative license on the shower room, I used what I remember from rv camp showers and just translated that to the showers in the prison.   
> I tried to make it make sense that Will would be in a men's prison, and i think he would have changed the gender on his birth certificate, so maybe that's why?   
> This chapter originally had horses, but I got too distracted by the WHIP (Wild Horse Inmate Program) that it took away from the story.   
> Bella is one of my favorite characters, and even though most people write Jack off as a jerk, I see him as the boss who pushes too hard until he realizes his mistakes.   
> Beverly is my girl, and I'm happy to have an excuse to write her.   
> Jimmy Price and Brian Zeller will show up later! I promise you'll love them.   
> Kudos give Will a warm blanket and Comments have Mason scrubbing toilets for the rest of his sentence.


	3. Bombshells

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will is pregnant and Hannibal decides to be brutal af

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM SORRY

This day had started much the same, Will roused by the light streaming into his shared cell, Hannibal already getting ready for the day. Once Hannibal finished his morning routine, Will started his. Hannibal seemed overly interested in Will this particular morning. Hovering nearby, watching Will’s movements as he got ready for the day. Will was feeling slightly nauseous, and Will threw up what little he had in his stomach into the toilet. 

“Will, are you feeling well?” Hannibal asked, approaching slowly.

“Oh, yeah, peaches,” he replied sarcastically, only to grimace before continuing, “No, no I don’t feel well. But I think you already knew that.” He stood up and walked over to the sink to brush his teeth. Hannibal watched closely, a slight sparkle in his eye. 

“Was it something you ate, Will?”

Will thought back to dinner last night. Pizza. It wasn’t particularly good, but it hadn’t bothered him. “Can’t think of anything besides it being prison food.”   
“Let us hope this illness doesn’t spread. I do hate when the whole cell block gets sick.” 

Will murmured an agreement and after Lounds made her rounds, the cell doors opened and the prisoners lined up for the cafeteria. Hannibal, instead of walking ahead of Will like he normally did, stood behind him. Will could feel his gaze on the back of his neck. Once he got his breakfast, Will went to his normal seat, carefully avoiding Verger and his lackeys. 

However avoidance wasn’t enough to stop Verger from paying attention to him today. Verger had grown more careless about being seen harassing Will, most of the guards bought off with his money hidden in offshore accounts.    
“Willy boy,” Verger cooed as he threw an arm around Will’s shoulders, if it was anyone else one of the guards would have scolded them for touching. “I haven’t seen you in  _ ages!” _ In reality Verger had ‘seen’ Will just two days ago, he hadn’t even recovered from the last encounter with him. “I would almost think you’ve been avoiding me.” Carlos and two others slipped into the seats around him. Will tried his best to curl up on himself. “You haven’t been avoiding me have you?” It sounded almost innocent the way Verger said it. 

“Mmmh.” Will gave a non-commital grunt, hoping that would appease Mason. It didn’t.

“You should answer me Graham, or I might have to let it slip they let trannys in this prison,” Mason whispered in Will’s ear. Will shuddered as Verger’s breath tickled his ear. 

“Yes, I’ve been avoiding you.” Will gritted out. Hating himself for even responding. 

“Well, that’s unfortunate, Marco, Carlos, can you help our guest to the showers? I think he could stand a quick shower before work, don’t you agree?”

The two men murmured their agreement, the third collected everyone's trays. Will felt something sharp against his ribs. He felt sick. Marco had never been involved before, Will was afraid something worse than their normal torture was about to happen.

Will recognized the sound of a bone breaking, for a moment he was certain it was his own, until he saw the hand that had been holding the shank bent almost in half. Blood was dripping onto the floor. A scream. 

Flesh was torn, and Hannibal looked inhuman. His eyes had dilated, but he wasn’t breathing hard. That was when Will noticed the blood dripping from his mouth. Hannibal swallowed, and Will knew. 

Carlos had his hand broken, bone sticking out from his bent arm, whimpering and screaming. Marco had a piece of his throat missing, both hands were clenched against his throat, trying to stop the bleeding. Will stood, enraptured by Hannibal. There was a fierceness he could remember from the crime scenes, but seeing it in person was different. Hannibal’s bloodlust threatened to pull Will in, the longer he watched the more he was entranced. 

He was vaguely aware of the guards pulling out batons and tasers. Will himself was pulled away as Hannibal was brought to his knees, hands forced above his head. The two injured men were being placed on gurneys. Will knew they would need a real hospital to fix what Hannibal had done.  _ All without wielding a weapon. _ The shank was covered in blood, blood that wasn’t Will’s, though it very well could’ve been. 

As Hannibal was cuffed, he smiled at Will, pleased with himself. Will knew he saw this as protecting Will. When Hannibal was dragged to solitary, he felt anything but protected. The gaze of everyone in that cafeteria was focused on him. Will ran to the nearest bathroom to throw up for the second time that day. 

Verger didn’t bother him for the rest of the day. Will was grateful for that at least. 

That evening the whole cell block was brought together for a group therapy session, something Will was already dreading before he even stepped in the door. 

No one really wanted to speak, but everyone was forced to give their full name and what they were committed for. That's how he learned Verger’s first name, Mason. Mason had been found guilty of sexual assault and murder, along with disposing of bodies by feeding them to his pigs. 

Will thought it was tasteless. Mason, however, continued, talking about his dear old dad and the way he used to stab a pig to test their fat. “I do miss Dad’s knife, it was a lovely blade, silver, he used to have me polish the thing before every county fair. It sliced through fat like butter.” Will was only too glad that Mason didn’t have his favorite knife. 

When it was his turn Will only gave the absolute minimum, he didn’t feel the need to rant about the life he had taken, or his encephalitis. Mason looked keen to find out more about Will, and Will felt pleased he could deny Mason something. 

That night alone in his cell felt empty. Will didn’t realise how much noise Hannibal really made. The scratch of a pencil on paper before lights out, the soft snoring as Hannibal slept. 

Will dreamt of the attack that had happened that day. But he was the one with Marco’s flesh in his mouth, the coppery taste satisfying in its warmth, it tasted better than most of the food the prison served. The stag made its way through the blood pooling on the floor.. The cafeteria was empty besides him and the animal in front of him. “See? See?!” The stag spoke with Garret Jacob Hobbs’ voice. Echoing off the walls. The stag ran at him, and Will turned to flee only to run into Hannibal’s outspread arms. It was comforting. 

Will was standing by the cell door when he was awoken. One of the commanding officers was shaking him awake. “Inmate, Inmate do you hear me? Can you understand me?” Will puked onto the officer’s shoes. 

Will woke up in the infirmary. He hadn’t been to the infirmary except for his monthly testosterone shot, and that had only happened once. Will sat up gently, his head was pounding, and someone was running over to him as he pushed himself up.

“Mr. Graham, I’m Dr. Price, I just need to run a few tests to figure out what caused that fainting spell of yours.”

“I-I fainted?”

“Yeah, pretty dramatically too, the poor CO who brought you down was worried you had just up and died after throwing up on his shoes. Now, you did hit your head on the bars so I just want to check that everything is working alright.”Dr. Price asked him a few questions about how he was feeling, checking his pulse and flashing a light into his eyes. 

Will answered appropriately. In the back of his mind he apologised to the CO for ruining their shoes. 

“Mr. Graham, I hate to ask you this, but when was the last time you had intercourse?”

“Consensual? Years.”   
“That doesn’t help me.”

“Yeah, well I don’t see the point of you asking me.”

“Will, please be honest with me, when did you last have intercourse?” Dr. Price sounded serious now. Will felt a little intimidated by the man, who just moments before had seemed jovial and lively.

“Uh…” Will searched his memory for the last time Mason Verger had touched him, “... a few days maybe?” Will finally said.

“Hmm.” Dr. Price wrote something on the clipboard he was holding. “Have you been feeling any nausea?”

“Yeah, not too bad most days.”

“Has your chest been tender?”

“Not really.”

“Have you gained any weight?”

Will thought about it, he had realized he had gained a few pounds, but he attributed that to not being as active as he had been outside. He had been planning on trying to work out in the yard sometime soon. “Yeah…?”

“Mr. Graham, I don’t want to alarm you, but you seem to be about a month and a half pregnant, which lines up with when you were first incarcerated.”

“No, no. I’ve been on T for years, I can’t be. No. There’s no way. I haven’t had a period in years.”

“Mr. Graham-”

“Will, call me Will. Please,” he begged, he needed comfort, and the first person his mind went to was the man who had ripped another man's throat out with their teeth.

“Then call me Jimmy, Will.” He smiled kindly at him. 

“Can I call someone? Please?”

“Sure, sure, who do you want to call?”

“Beverly Katz.”

Twenty minutes later Will had a phone in his hand in Jimmy’s office, the doctor was sitting just outside with the door slightly propped open. Will mumbled softly, “Pick up, pick up, please pick up, pick up,” as the phone rang. 

“M’ -ello?” Beverly’s tired voice answered.

“Beverly, it's me, Will.”

“Why wasn’t there that collect call thingy?”

“I’m using the Dr.’s office,” Will responded.

That seemed to wake Beverly up. “Were you one of the people Lecter attacked today- er- yesterday now?

“No, no I’m fine, he didn’t hurt me.”

“Oh thank the lord! Will, seriously what’s going on.”

Will breathed in deeply before he answered. “Beverly, I’m pregnant.”

“No way, you haven’t slept with a guy since that Matthew dude.”

“Not consensually, no.”

“Will, who fucking raped you? Is this why you’ve been distant? Some fucker decided to hurt you and threatened to hurt you worse if you told anyone?” Beverly sounded pissed. 

“Something like that,” Will agreed. 

“Who was it? That Lecter freak?”

“No, no not him.”

“Then who Will? Give me an answer.”

Will could feel the tears welling up, “I-I can’t Beverly, but I need help.”

“Fuck yeah you do, are you gonna get an abortion? Will they let you?”

“I don’t know, to both.”

“Will, you can’t have a kid in prison. You just can’t”

He sighed, “I know, but… I’m not sure I can just… get rid of it either.” 

“You have time Will, but I’m not sure that you should go through with it.”

“I need more time to think about this, what it means for me.”   
“Of course, just don’t wait too long, and I don’t know, can the doctor there talk through things with you? I can be there tomorrow for visiting hours.”

“Don’t tell Jack yet. And don’t tell Alana.” Will hadn’t spoken to Alana since he was first incarcerated, he figured it was for the best, but he still couldn’t handle the thought of her knowing. 

“Of course.”

“Bev, I-I I’m not sure what I’m going to do, this all feels insane, I wasn’t supposed to be able to  _ get _ pregnant”

“I know, I know. Will, you should go talk to the doctor they have in there, figure out what you need to do, see what your options are.”

“Yeah, yeah I should.” Will glanced at the clock on the wall that revealed it was 2:17 in the morning. “Jesus, Beverly, I should let you go back to sleep. God knows Jack causes us to lose enough sleep.”

“HA! You know it, Good night, Will.”

“Night.” He waited until he heard a dial tone on the other end, then put the receiver down. He sat in silence for a moment before he walked out of the room, holding the IV bag above his head and back to Jimmy. Jimmy helped Will back to bed, handing him some advil and putting the IV bag back onto the hook above his bed. 

“I’ll talk to you tomorrow, I’ll have Chilton come down to see what we can do.”

Will nodded before succumbing to sleep.


	4. Chilton's agreement

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short chapter, I've been having a bit of trouble with this, hope you guys still enjoy

“As I said before Graham, you help me, I’ll help you.”

“What do you want me to do?”  _ ‘Suck your dick?’ _ Will thought, perturbed by the audacity of the man in front of him. Chilton was wearing something Will thought Hannibal would look more at home in. The plaid suit on Chilton only made him look… gaudy. Clearly Chilton was trying to show his wealth, probably skimmed from the top.    
“I’d like you to help me with Hannibal Lecter.”

“Yeah? How?” Will retorted.

“I simply want you to tell me what his activities inside the prison include, perhaps talk to him about his crimes,” Chilton beamed widely.

“Why can’t you?”

“You’re the profiler, I only have a psychology degree. While I can try to have Hannibal speak in therapy, his… past profession has made it impossible for me to accurately study him.”

“Which profession is so difficult for you to deal with? Psychiatrist or surgeon?” Will was pretty certain that Chilton had followed much the same career path as the resident cannibal in his prison. From what Will could tell he was a med school drop out, probably couldn’t handle the blood. 

“Knowing psychiatric practices makes it more difficult to be fully open to therapy,” Chilton responded.

Will snorted. “Fine, if I spy on Hannibal will you help me with my issue?”

“I’ll see what we’ll be able to handle financially.”

“And what will you be able to handle financially?”

“Well, seeing as this probably happened before your incarceration-”

“It didn’t; happened within these walls, tread carefully warden.”

“I would advise you, Inmate, to speak more carefully with me. Now, seeing as we cannot prove you weren’t- ahem- knocked up inside these walls, we cannot prove that this was in fact an non-consensual interaction. As this isn’t deemed a medical necessity, unless Dr. Price finds out otherwise, our government will be more inclined to have you carry to term and for you or the state to find a suitable home for the child.”

Will was practically seething by the time Chilton finished, “First of all, I didn’t fuck anyone consensually in years. Second of all, this is a fucking medical necessity, I am a trans man in a  _ men’s _ prison. You tell me how you think this is gonna work.”

“Mr. Graham, I understand your frustration, but I am not in charge of the funding to get you a medical abortion, and unfortunately we cannot bring you to a clinic without spending a significant amount transporting you.”

“Pretty sure you’d have to pay more if I decided to sue.”

“I was informed you hadn’t decided if you wanted to keep the child or not,” Chilton switched topics easily, picking his words carefully. Will knew he was trying to make Will feel guilty by calling the clump of cells growing inside a child. He wasn’t sure if its heart was even beating yet. Will turned to glare at Jimmy, a little irked he had already told Chilton about his internal debate. 

“I’m not letting them go into the foster system,” Will knew he had lost the battle the second those words left his mouth. 

“Then I would advise finding a friend or family member amenable to taking them in.” 

With that Chilton left the infirmary, his cane  _ tap, tap, tapping _ against the linoleum floor.    
Jimmy was looking adequately sheepish, so Will didn’t feel the need to berate him.  _ ‘God it’s gonna be a long nine months.’ _

Will spent the next few hours lazing around in the hospital bed before a man he had seen sitting with Hannibal was led into the room. He was smirking, looking fairly pleased with himself, though definitely bloody. His nose was dripping blood all over the floor and Will could see bruises already forming on the man’s body, his eye was swollen shut and he was walking with a limp. 

“Jesus Christ Brian, you were here last week!” Jimmy exclaimed.

“Shut up, you miss me,” Brian smiled as Jimmy helped him into the bed next to Will. Caught staring, Will was offered a hand from Brian. “Brian Zeller, professional fuckup and Jimmy here’s best friend.”

“You’re hardly my best friend,” Jimmy retorted as he started assessing Brian’s injuries. 

“Will Graham, possibly insane,” Will responded and grabbed Brian’s outstretched hand, absorbing some of the man’s good cheer. 

“HA, I like this one Jimmy.”

“Hmm, I’d like  _ you _ better if you kept your mouth shut and stayed out of trouble.”

“Then how would I get to see you?”   
“Preferably with two eyes.”

“I only need one,” Brian said, grinning as Jimmy helped him clean up his wounds. 

“Not if you want depth perception.”

The two continued their conversation, largely leaving Will out of it. He was fine with that, he needed time to think anyway. This whole situation was a mess, and Jack was gonna lose his mind if he found out Will had been raped in prison. For a moment Will thought about admitting to the warden who had done this to him, but he feared the backlash. 

“You hear Lecter ate part of that guy’s throat?” Brian asked Jimmy, pulling Will away from his thoughts.

“Heard about it.” Jimmy said, continuing some tasks around the room, sorting things. “Heard that the guy with the broken arm is conscious now, not about the guy with his throat taken out. Honestly, he’ll be lucky if he doesn’t need to be tube fed.”

Brian raised his eyebrows suggestively, “You can tube feed me if you want.” 

Jimmy glared before returning to the topic at hand, “Lecter’ll be out at the end of the week, I guarantee it, everyone knows he’s a creepy fuck normally. The SHU only makes it more obvious.” Jimmy shivered, “He just… sits there, doesn’t eat the food, he knows that they’ll pull him out faster if he doesn’t eat anything. I always end up having to tube feed him after.”

“Again, my offer still stands Jimmy.”

“Do they know why he did it?” Will asked, finally butting into the conversation.

“Well, I think you already know, he did it to protect you. Didn’t like seeing Mason’s thugs laying their hands on you,” Brian responded, shrugging. “I think he finally got fed up.”

Jimmy laughed, “Well he got a meal out of it at the very least.” 


	5. protection

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry guys, life. I've been working on an original story. This chapter was sorta hard as I just lost all plot i had in my head.

Beverly was rightly pissed. Once Will was out of the infirmary he had called her, telling her what had happened with Chilton, he knew now that he was going to need to get out of jail. He wasn’t going to let this kid grow up without him. Will could almost picture the future, a little kid playing with the dogs, learning to fish at the creek. 

“You’re telling me, you’re gonna keep the kid and apply for an appeal?” 

“Yeah, Bev, listen, I just need a transfer out of this place, and once I have the kid, would you watch them until I get out?”

“Well yeah, but you know how long it takes for things to go through the system,” Beverly sighed, “I guess I can see if Jack can pull any strings. Make sure you stay safe okay, at least until you call again. Jack and I can be on a call together later, if you want.”  
Will thought about it for a moment before responding, “Yeah, I think talking to both of you might help. Is Alana willing to talk with me yet?”

“She’s hurt, I’ll ask, but it might take a while.”

“Of course, just, just ask if the dogs are alright for me, would you?”

“Yeah Will, I will. Though I can already tell you Winston misses you like crazy, he keeps running back to Wolf Trap.”

“Don’t say things like that, makes me want to run back to Wolf Trap,” Will joked. He really missed his dogs, missed the late night walks down to the creek, missed the quiet. 

A few hours later Lecter was brought back to their cell, he looked slightly worse for wear. Lecter only got ready for bed. After lights out Will and Hannibal stayed awake, both hoping for the other to say something. 

Hannibal broke the silence.

“How are you feeling, Will?” Hannibal’s voice was harsh, probably from the feeding tube Will knew he had gotten. 

“Lost.”

“I assume you know the reason behind your sickness now?”

“Yes, but how did you know? More importantly, why the fuck did you try to help me?”

“Language, dear Will. I helped you because I wanted to see what would happen. I also feared for you and the child, of course.” Hannibal's voice betrayed a hint of emotion, what it was Will couldn’t pinpoint.

“I asked how you knew.”

“I have a very keen nose.”

“Why do you have any interest in my well-being?” Will started to feel he was actually interrogating Hannibal instead of asking questions.

“I find you at the very least, intriguing, if not wholly fascinating.”

“Huh, why would you think that?”

“Tell me, why do you think I find you interesting?”

“I’d say my brain; it seems every doctor wants to get their hands on it.”

“That’s not it, guess again.”

“I’m an ex-fed who killed a man brutally,” Will whispered, feeling this was more on track.

“Closer to the answer, good night, Will.” Hannibal rolled over on his bed, and Will knew when to stop talking. He wasn’t going to be able to get anything else out of Hannibal tonight. 

Will’s dreams were full of blood that night, the stag watching over Will as he took apart the corpse in front of him. The man who had come to attack him, his now ex, Matthew Brown. Will had figured it out once he came home to Matthew cleaning the knife in the sink, the gun on the table. Will knew, and yet he waited for Matthew to attack him, to prove he was the man who had killed all those people. The stag watched as Will tore into his dead boyfriends chest and pulled out the lungs. Will created a tableau, reminiscent of Matthew’s own. This time instead of Jack walking to the door, it was Hannibal, and instead of being horrified he seemed… pleased. “This is my design.” Will spoke to the dream stag as Hannibal admired the corpse. The stag bellowed, and Hannibal turned to face Will. 

“This,” Hannibal said, “is what you were meant to do. Punish the unworthy.”

Will woke with a start, chest pounding, sweat drenched his jumpsuit. After taking in his surroundings he noted that Lounds was on the other side, already starting the morning count. Hannibal was getting ready, shaving quickly, but when Will bolted awake he turned to his cellmate.

“Will, are you alright?”

“You want to see my darkness,” Will panted. 

Hannibal smiled before saying, “Come sit with me at breakfast. You could use the protection, especially now.”

Will accepted the invitation, sliding into the seat next to Hannibal. Will had some sort of protection now. The issue was if Verger was going to accept that. Across the table Zeller and Tier were heatedly discussing human-kind. Tier had taken a negative stance. 

Hannibal seemed disinterested, but occasionally piped up to comment, otherwise he ate his so called “breakfast” as quickly as he could while still executing proper manners. Unfortunately the smell of the overcooked bacon wasn’t doing anything to settle Will’s stomach. He kept gagging as he inhaled his breakfast, not wanting to prolong the experience. Hannibal seemed to notice this, and passed Will his slice of toast with jam. 

“Eat this, it should help settle your stomach a bit,” Hannibal whispered. When Will turned to look at Hannibal he could see that there was no ill intent behind the action, and ate the toast. 

Hannibal seemed smug as he watched Will eat the proffered toast. Will greedily inhaled it, almost wishing there was more. The stale bread didn’t feel quite as stale smothered in jam. Zeller was pointing out the marvels mankind had created over the centuries when Hannibal chipped in again. 

“Art is an extremely human phenomenon. No other creature creates things for creation’s sake. I feel in that regard that is something that sets us apart from animals. Don’t you agree Will?”

“What sets us apart from animals is that we understand our actions,” Will mumbled, not really wishing to engage in the conversation. Luckily for him it worked out. Zeller and Tier returned to their argument, until work was called, and Hannibal took everyone’s tray to the return. 

One of the guards pulled Will aside as he left the cafeteria. “You’ve been assigned to the laundry. Chilton’s orders.” Will turned and looked at Hannibal, who stood watching as Will was led down a different hallway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trust me guys. It'll get better

**Author's Note:**

> Hope this was good! Kudos are dreams of finer food and Comments convince Chilton to put Hannibal on kitchen duty.


End file.
